The Shapeshifter

About This Audiobook

Dax Jones doesn’t expect much from Year 9—until Gideon vanishes from their school like he’s been scooped up by the wind. What should be a personal betrayal instead becomes the first clue in a mystery that stitches magic into the fabric of ordinary life. Sparkes crafts a story where the ordinary cracks open, revealing that the friend you thought you knew might secretly be something else entirely. The emotional weight of fractured friendship pairs with a slow-burn supernatural reveal, delivering a tale that’s equal parts heartbreak and wonder. It’s not the kind of fantasy that flashes neon spells; it’s the kind that creeps in through your ribs when you’re not looking, leaving you slightly breathless. The prose is lean and tactile, grounding the weirdness in the grime and gossip of school corridors, making the extraordinary feel like it’s always been hiding in plain sight. This isn’t a book that begs for your disbelief—it sneaks it away while you’re arguing with Dax over whether Gideon could really be… not human anymore. Glen McCready’s narration is the secret weapon here, turning what could’ve been a stiff middle-grade premise into a listening experience that crackles with tension and dry wit. McCready leans into the teenage frustration of Dax’s voice without overplaying the angst, letting the humor land in the gaps between his snarky internal monologue. When the supernatural kicks in, his voice drops into a hushed urgency that makes the shapeshifter premise feel like a threat rather than a novelty. It’s a performance that respects the audience’s intelligence—no dumbing down, no over-explaining, just a steady escalation that mirrors the story’s own quiet unraveling.